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Local filmmaker brings nightmare to life on big screen

Amanda Creel, Special to the News Journal;
7:37 p.m. CDT May 16, 2014

Special effects artist Eric Dupre works with actor Joe Brown for a scene from the upcoming horror film "Lost Souls" that is being shot in Pensacola.(Photo: John Blackie/jblackie@pnj.com, John Blackie/jblackie@pnj.com)

For most of us, waking up from a nightmare is followed by trying to forget it.

However, Colleen Sinor, did just the opposite. She woke up from a nightmare at 3 a.m. and stayed awake until her dad, Paul Sinor, was awake and told him every detail she could remember.

Paul Sinor, famous for working on such blockbusters as "I am Legend" and "Transformers," told Colleen Sinor she should write that down.

The notes she wrote that morning have evolved into a movie script, "Lost Souls: Tag You're It," and the script has grown into a movie project filled with actors and production crew members from around the Panhandle.

"This (the movie) is the all-encompassing vision of the nightmare," said Colleen Sinor, writer and director of the film, who owns Madd Dog Productions in Pensacola.

Eric Dupre, a special effects artist, said he enjoys the challenge of working on the horror movie and building the special effects from scratch such as a severed tongue and an edible brain.

"The whole point is to make everything look and feel as real as possible," Dupre of Navarre said.

For several weekends this spring, a group of thespians and the production crew gathered to make movie magic around Pensacola, filming scenes in downtown Pensacola, at a location off of Lillian Highway and at a Pensacola office building.

Filming concluded May 4 after what Colleen Sinor described as a weekend of slit throats and gouged out eyes as the film crew completed some of its goriest scenes of the film.

"Everyone died well on screen. We had a great time," she said.

Colleen Sinor has now shifted to working on editing the film to prepare it for all the horror film festivals that start accepting submissions this summer.

"I can't wait to see what happens," Colleen Sinor said.

The movie's storyline begins 10 years earlier when someone witnesses a murder and then flashes forwards to present day when a ghost hunting team arrives at the murder scene and tries to contact the victims.

"It keeps you guessing. I mean, I still don't know what is going to happen," said Brandi Meriwether of Pensacola, who plays Maddie Rhodes in the film.

All of the crew and cast volunteered their time and talents in an effort to showcase Pensacola and the talent pool available to film crews.

"You know it is going to be good, because we are here on our own time," said Joseph Brown of Pensacola, who plays Blake Cooper.

The cast and crew worked together to perfect every detail of every shot, from making sure a scalping scene went off without a hitch to making sure the dialogue of every scene was perfect.

"I like how everyone is dedicated. They are here because they want to be, so it makes the film more realistic," said Sean McNamara of Pensacola, director of sound for the movie.

In between filming, the cast and crew could all be found in what Moona Joyner, the film's makeup artist, calls the "Spooky House" laughing, joking and preparing for another scene.

"I think this project for everybody has been a great project to network and to realize how much talent is in this area. And, hopefully we get to do many projects in the future together," said Joyner, who lives in Mary Esther.

Colleen Sinor said the only thing that worried her about the project was some people's dislike of the horror movie genre, adding she herself is one of the first people to leave the room when a horror flick is on the screen.

"I don't like horror movies. I watch one horror movie a year to appease my husband," she added.

Colleen Sinor said directing a horror movie is different than watching one, because she knows what to expect, and she hopes those who do love horror will enjoy her nightmare on screen.

She isn't the only member of the movie's crew who isn't normally a horror-movie enthusiast.

"I am such a scaredy-cat when it comes to horror movies. It's nice to see how they are made, so I won't be such a scaredy-cat," said Marianne Del Gallega of Pensacola, who plays Riley Mason.

One thing the cast and crew all agreed made the horror movie stand out from other horror movies is the female characters.

"The roles are not bimbos. These are some smart, strong, women who make a bad choice and go into the woods to do some ghost hunting," Colleen Sinor said.

She added she knows people like "boobs and blood" but she wanted to do something different.

Colleen Sinor said one of the main reasons she wanted to film in Pensacola was to highlight what Pensacola has to offer to movie professionals looking for locations.

"We have so many scenes we can do. We have the Gulf, we have the country and the woods. There isn't much you couldn't shoot here," Dupre agreed.

Dupre said the key to helping others take notice and consider filming in Pensacola is to create projects showcasing the skills available in the local community, and he thinks "Lost Souls" does just that.

"We are trying to get people really excited about making films here and to want to come here," said Loren Boyer of Valparaiso, a member of the production crew.

Once the film is completed, Colleen Sinor plans to enter the film into five film festivals, including ones on the national and international stage. The cast and crew also are working on the possibility of having a local screening to share the film with Pensacola and the surrounding communities.